The Board of Trustees (BOT) voted Friday morning to offer the presidency to a candidate who has not been publicly identified.

In a unanimous decision during a special meeting on Dec. 18, the trustees voted to offer “Candidate A” the job of president and to further negotiate a contract with them. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

The BOT previously announced on Nov. 13 that they would begin negotiations with “Candidate A,” who they said was the “top candidate” for the job, though it is unclear if the candidate from the Nov. 13 announcement is the same one the board voted to officially the job to on Dec 18. 

“Ultimately, we will be engaging the broader community, and I can’t tell you how excited we are, how pleased we are to have moved through this process,” Ron Erickson, the chair of the BOT, said. “In a way, if we make good progress, this could be a wonderful Christmas gift to the university and the community. So, we’ll see.”

A total of 80 candidates submitted applications by the Sept. 30 deadline. The 80 candidates were reduced to 10 by the Trustees Search Advisory Committee (TSAC), who then conducted interviews throughout October. The TSAC recommended five finalists to the BOT, who voted unanimously to approve them on Nov. 2.

The five finalists were interviewed by the BOT on Nov. 9 and 10, with two candidates visiting campus and three others interviewing remotely.

CWU Trustee Erin Black previously said the search was conducted confidentially to “attract a large number of high quality candidates.”

The next president will take over for current president James L. Gaudino, who announced in February that he would step down on July 31, 2021. While members of the BOT have previously said they hope to name a new president before the end of 2020, it is currently unclear when Gaudino’s successor will take office.